Pharmacopoeia is the most important guide for the manufacture, testing, storage and dispensing of medicines, i.e. it is an instrument of state control of the medicines quality.

Pharmacopoeia precursors were ancient treatises of Dioscorides and "Conon" of Ibn Sina, and in XVI-XVII centuries they were antidotaries and dispensatorii.

The first state pharmacopoeia was published in Spain (1535). The appearance of pharmacopoeia, on the one hand, was a consequence of the development of European pharmacy trade, on the other - hand it stimulated this trade, turning it into a state affair.

In Russia the military pharmacopoeia was published at first (1765) and in 1778 the first official Russian State pharmacopoeia was published in Latin. It contained the description of 770 medicines of mineral, vegetable and animal origin, as well as multicomponent medicinal forms. In 1798 the 2nd edition of the State Russian pharmacopoeia was also published in Latin, which in 1802 was translated into Russian by the student of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Leontovichand was called " The Russian Pharmacopoeia."

The first Russian pharmacopoeia in Russian came out in 1866, the second - in 1871, the third - in 1880, the fourth - in 1891, the fifth - in 1902, the sixth - in 1910

The seventh edition was published in 1925 under the name of the State Pharmacopoeia, the eighth - in 1946 under the name of the State pharmacopoeia of the USSR, the ninth - in 1961, the tenth - in 1968, the eleventhth - in 1887 (issue 1) and 1990 (issue 2).

In connection with the gaining of independence by our country the State Pharmacopoeia of the Republic of Belarus of the first edition came out (Volume 3 -. 2007, 2008, 2009), and since January 1, 2013 the State pharmacopoeia of the Republic of Belarus of the second edition has been enforced (Volume 1).

Pharmacopeia. Materials from the Russian Pharmacopoeia of the first edition (1866)

The 55th anniversary of the founding of the Belarusian Scientific Society of Pharmacists

The Belarusian Scientific Society of Pharmacists (BelNOF) was established in June 1959 at the National Conference of pharmacists in Minsk. As early as at the beginning of this year Minsk city society and five regional research pharmaceutical companies were formed , which were a part of BelNOF exercising their rights as branches. The same year the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Vitebsk Medical Institute was opened (now University).

In accordance with the taken Articles BelNOF is a voluntary organization of pharmaceutical workers engaged in research and practical work in the field of pharmacy.

The tasks of BelNOF are: the promotion of scientific development problems of the theory and pharmacy practice; providing scientific and methodical and practical help to the authorities, institutions and healthcare companies in the drug service improvement for the population and the introduction of the latest achievements of pharmaceutical and medical sciences; development and submission to the Ministry of Health and health authorities in the field of proposals for the organization of pharmacy and drug services to the public and scientific work in the field of pharmacy; promotion of the achievements of pharmaceutical and medical science in the field of pharmacology and pharmaceutical among the general medical community and the public, and others.

BelNOF supreme authority was the Congress of Pharmacists (conference). The BelNOF activity guidance between congresses was conducted by the Board, and monitoring of its activities was conducted by Audit Commission.

The first chairman was BelNOF Sergei G. Shamruk, who worked as Deputy Chief of the Ministry of Health of the BSSR pharmacy management (from 1971 to 1992 he was leading the pharmacy service of Belarus).

In the following years the board of BelNOF was led by: Yuriy Kolesnichenko (Candidate of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Head of the Department of Pharmacognosy and Botany of Vitebsk Medical Institute (1963 - 1967), Evdokia Antonovna Tukalo (Candidate of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry of Vitebsk Medical Institute (1962 - 1979) Ivan Urvantsev (candidate of pharmaceutical Sciences, Associate professor, Head of the Department of Economics and organization of pharmaceutical business of the Belarusian Postgraduate medical Institute (1973 - 1983), Valeriy Filippovich Gorenkov (doctor of Pharmacy, professor, head of economics and organization of pharmaceutical business of the Belarusian Institute of Advanced medical Studies )(1983 - 1992).

The terms of reference of the Board BelNOF also included the convening of national conventions, conferences society; the enforcement of decisions of All-Union Scientific Society of Pharmacists (VNOF) and other questions.

On January 1, 1960 the number of BelNOF members was 308, on July 1, 1970 there were 1558 people, and on January 1, 1983 there were 2612 people.

During its existence BelNOF organized and held six congresses of pharmacists. The materials of each Congress are isuued and they are stored in the office of pharmacy history. Information about the national conventions is stated in the book "Pharmacy of Belarus of the XX century (authors V.F. Gorenkov, S.V. Gorenkov).

BelNOF worked closely with VNOF ( it was founded in 1949). The board of VNOF which was elected in March 1959 by the 2nd All-Union Conference of pharmacists, included representatives of the BSSR (I.F. Urvantsev - Head GAPU BSSR Ministry of Health, K.S. Shadurski - Professor, Head of the Department of Pharmacology of the Minsk Medical Institute, in the auditing committee – V.I. Popov - professor of pharmacognosy of Mogilev medical school). At this conference V.I. Popov spoke as a member of the Mogilev regional JVP with the report "Experiments on the culture of medicinal plants at the nursery of the Mogilev medical school" (1959).

In the future, the board and the auditing committee was updated with new members.

On the first All-Union Congress of Pharmacists (Pyatigorsk, 1967) the members of BelNOF V.F. Gorenkov and A.T. Horonko told colleagues about the study of ambulatory formulation of BSSR pharmacies and E.A. Tukalo and G.N. Tsarik told them about the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the steroid aglycone glycoalkaloids.

On the second congress (Riga, 1974) BelNOF four reports were already presented: about the experience of the implementation of mechanized calculation movement of medicines in the pharmaceutical institutions of the BSSR (S.G. Shamruk, V.N. Korol, G.V.Pashkova ); the analysis of the main economic indicators in some drug stores of BSSR (K.I. Shkopets, V.F. Gorenkov, L.N.Smorygo ); the further development of the organization of medicinal maintenance of the rural population in Belarus (S.G. Shamruk); medical provision of inpatients of Minsk region (V.F. Gorenkov, I.F. Urvantsev, A.H. Gariev).

The members of BelNOF participated in other conventions (including the Union republics), as well as in the all-union meetings, national sessions, scientific conferences, VNOF plenary sessions (Tashkent, 1969 Novosibirsk, 1973; Gorkij, 1982, Dnepropetrovsk, 1985 and so on ).

The delegation of the Belarusian Scientific Society of Pharmacists at the IV Plenary Meeting of the All-Union Society of Pharmacists in Dnipropetrovsk ( June 18-20 1985)

BelNOF conducted several national conferences and plenary sessions of the Board with the participation of colleagues from GAPU USSR Ministry of Health and VNOF.

In the autumn of 1990 on the basis of the Belarusian Institute of Advanced Medical Union an educational conference "The problems of planning and organization of postgraduate training of pharmacists" was held. At the conference the lecturers of the Pharmacy faculty of the Belarusian Institute of Advanced Medical V.F. Gorenkov, G.V. Godovalnikov, L.I. Pogodin, A.V. Vavilova, S.I. Borisevich also spoke.

The results of the congresses, conferences and plenums allowed to identify the most promising and urgent problems of pharmaceutical science and practice, formulate priorities, the solution of which was necessary for further improvement of the quality of drug services to the population and medical institutions.

The driving force BelNOF and the generator of scientific ideas were scientists A.I. Bondarenko, V.F. Gorenkov, V.I. Ischenko, O.I. Kostyuchenko, V.A. Kulikov Y.V. Vole, VV.I. Popov, E.I. Rzheussky, V.I. Senchilo, E.A. Toucan, A.T. Horonko, G.N. Tsarik, I.F. Urvantsev, V.L. Sheluto, E.G. Elyashevich, V.G. Yakutovich, V.K. Yaschenko and others. Scientists and members of BelNOF constantly published materials, first of all, on the problems of the various disciplines of pharmacy. Their research used in the preparation of a number of Ministry of Health of the BSSR orders.

A significant role in the ongoing work BelNOF belonged to territorial scientific societies of pharmacists, who were represented mainly by pharmacists of practical pharmacy. Scientific societies actively participated in the development of network development plans and in prioritizing of the opening of pharmacies; in the study of the extemporaneous formulation and implementation of common formulations in the inner pharmacy workpiece; in the study of new drugs and their introduction into clinical practice; in the development of criteria and conditions of socialist competition, brigade forms of work, elements of scientific organization of labor and the use of them in pharmacies; to automate labor-intensive processes; to organize the contests of professional skills, and others.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the activity of VNOF and BNOF ceased activity. In 1998, the Belarus Pharmacists Association was formed, Gennady Godovalnikov was elected as the president (Director of State Enterprise "National Centre for Expertise and Testing in Healthcare", Candidate of Pharmaceutical Sciences).

On January 19, 2000 Belarusian Association of pharmaceutical workers was registered(instead of the Belarusian Association of Pharmacists) in order to align the name of the public association in accordance with the current legislation. The Chairman of the Board was Vladimir Ivanov Ishchenko (Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Vitebsk Medical Institute from 1969 to 1996, Doctor of Pharmacy , Professor).

At the end of 2006 changes and additions were included to the charter of the public association and in accordance with established procedure it was registered as a republican public association of pharmaceutical workers "PHARMABEL". M.G. Shalaev was elected as the Chairman of the Board of the ROOFR "PHARMABEL" (Director General of RUP "BELPHARMATSIYA from 1998 to 2008), and in September 2010 V.F. Sosonkin was elected (the leading specialist of RUP "BELPHARMATSIYA", he previously headed the pharmacy service of the Brest region). The work of the public association is systematically reported on the site of RUP "BELFAPHMATSIYA» pharma.by, «FARMABEL" section.